Serious violence: new legal duty to support multi-agency action

Tackling serious violence requires a multi-agency approach involving a range of partners and agencies such as education, health, social services, housing, youth and victim services, offender management and others. It is also vital that public agencies work in partnership with the voluntary and charitable sector to develop targeted interventions in local communities. Action should be guided by evidence of the problems and what works in tackling their root causes. To do this, we must bring organisations together to share information, data and intelligence and encourage them to work in concert rather than in isolation.

The consultation paper sets out options for supporting a multi-agency or ‘public health’ approach including options for the introduction of a new legal duty and a non-legislative option for partners to work together voluntarily to prevent and tackle serious violence.

We would like to hear from:

• those with expertise in working with young people at risk of criminal involvement and/or re-offending or victimisation
• those involved in law enforcement
• the communities affected by serious violence.

This includes relevant professionals, such as those working in:

• social care
• education
• law enforcement
• local government
• community safety
• youth services
• offender management
• public health and healthcare

We would also value responses from the voluntary sector and, in recognition of multi-agency approaches outside England and Wales, we would also welcome responses from across the UK.